Photos of Navaratri: The Largest Hindu Festival in Thailand

Last night of Navaratri Festival in Bangkok. This is the biggest Hindu festival in Thailand but is hugely attended by Buddhists. It was hot. First time I’d seen someone with the Thaipusam piercing. The mass coconut smash toward the end was spectacular, and smelled fantastic.

Hindu festivals so are visual, but there is obviously an incredible amount of ancient, deep religious and philosophical meaning behind every tiny aspect, none of which I am knowledgeable about. I could Google everything and pretend I know, (e.g. the coconut apparently represents the ego), but I won’t.

Especially are the Theyyam (also known as Kaliyattam) suits. With the massive red Mudi (Headdress), some of them struggled with the heat.

And of course the Thaipusam ritual piercing of the face. No long how long I’ve been in Asia, this one will always seem somewhat unimaginable.

The influencers were out, this is also a massive Thai fashion show. The organization was impressive, all kept safe by the Barracuda bodyguards with the awesome typo.